Thoughts on business school, economics, NC State, and everyday life from an economist at NC State's business school

Thursday, November 26, 2009

We really do have reason to be thankful

Great column in yesterday's WSJ by James Stewart about why we should be thankful for Henry Paulson, Tim Geithner, and Ben Bernanke. Stewart's message in a nutshell: Many of us seem to have forgotten how close the economy came to a total meltdown last fall. The Paul Krugmans and Glenn Becks of the world are making emotionally charged arguments (and collecting huge salaries and speakers fees, I might add) second guessing the bailouts and stimulus packages respectively. But guess what? The Bush and Obama economic teams made the right calls on the biggest issues. Without the bailouts 2009 would have been an economic rehash of 1930. Without the monetary and fiscal stimulus (from both Bush and Obama) unemployment would easily be 12 or 13 percent. Stimulus packages in other countries also have been effective; the global economy is starting to recover. Money quote:

We're a lot better off today than we were a year ago. This week I'll be giving thanks for that.

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Steve Allen is Associate Dean for Graduate Programs and Research in the College of Management at NC State University. He has appointments in the Department of Economics as well as the Department of Management, Innovation, and Entrepreneurship. Steve also is a Research Associate of the National Bureau of Economic Research, a non-profit research organization located in Cambridge, Mass.